Mark R. Widmar
Beginning on slide four, good afternoon, and thank you for joining us today. I will share key highlights and accomplishments from 2025. We entered the year on the new U.S. administration with a back-weighted shipment profile that required staging production to fulfill contracted commitments concentrated in the second half. Amid a persistently uncertain policy and trade environment. Over the course of the year, we navigated a budgetary reconciliation process which created the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, evolving tariff scenarios, customer negotiations, and regulatory developments, including Section 232 actions, FEOC restrictions, and AD/CVD investigations that are still unresolved and could ultimately prove to be either headwinds or tailwinds. Throughout, we remained anchored to a core guiding principle and a key differentiator valued by our customers: contract certainty, both in pricing and in timely delivery. To honor our obligations, we maintained sufficient capacity to fulfill international module commitments and actively pursued various contractual protections to address shifting tariff dynamics and, in some cases, contract terminations. Given that backdrop, we took a disciplined, selective approach to customer contracting throughout the year. That approach is proving effective. Since our last earnings call, we secured gross bookings of 2.3 gigawatts excluding domestic India volume, and 0.1 gigawatt of low-bin inventory clearance. We booked 1 gigawatt in our key U.S. utility-scale market at an ASP of $0.364 per watt, inclusive of applicable adjusters. By remaining patient, selective, and opportunistic, we capitalized on demand that recognizes the differentiated value of our products and contracting structure, strengthening the forward earnings profile of our backlog and positioning us to navigate and potentially benefit from ongoing policy and trade uncertainty. We are pleased to have delivered record sales of 17.5 gigawatts of modules in 2025. Net sales of $5.2 billion were at the top end of our most recent guidance range and represented a 24% year-over-year increase. Full year diluted EPS was within our most recent guidance range at $14.21 per share. We ended the year with $2.9 billion of gross cash and $2.4 billion of net cash, coming in above our guidance range. Our growth continued in 2025 as we advanced our U.S. capacity expansion, highlighted by initiating commercial production in Louisiana, our fifth U.S. factory. In addition, we announced plans to onshore the finishing of Series 6 modules initiated at our international factories by adding U.S. finishing capacity with a new facility in South Carolina. We expect production from this facility to begin in 2026 and ramp through 2027. We also advanced our CdTe-based CURE semiconductor platform. Following a limited commercial production run from Q4 2024 to Q1 2025, we delivered initial CURE modules to customers in 2025. Based on laboratory and field testing results, CURE has demonstrated the expected advantaged energy profile driven by industry-leading temperature coefficient and long-term degradation rate with improved bifaciality. These results continue to support a disciplined factory-by-factory CURE conversion rollout expected to begin next month starting at our Ohio Series 6 factory. In parallel with our CdTe-based CURE platform, we advanced our next-generation perovskite thin film program. Our focus remains on efficiency, energy attributes, reliability, and a scalable path to high-volume, low-cost manufacturing of this potentially transformational thin film. We launched the perovskite development line at our Perrysburg campus and reached full in-line processing capabilities in Q3, marking an important step in the lab-to-fab transferability and enabling production of smaller form factor modules using anticipated manufacturing tools and integrated processes. In late 2025, we initiated sourcing for a perovskite Series 6 module form factor pilot line, which we expect to reach operational readiness in early 2027. While we made promising progress in 2025, additional work remains before more broadly scaling our perovskite program. Lastly, we continue to actively enforce our intellectual property rights, including our TOPCon patents. Notably, in Q4, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office denied three separate petitions filed by foreign-headquartered manufacturers that sought to invalidate aspects of our TOPCon portfolio. This outcome reinforces our confidence in the strength of our patent portfolio. I will now turn the call over to Alexander R. Bradley to discuss our most recent shipments and booking activities as well as our Q4 and full year 2025 results. Thanks, and beginning on slide five. As of 12/31/2024, a contracted backlog totaled 68.5 gigawatts, valued at $20.5 billion, or approximately $0.299 per watt. For the full year 2025, we sold 17.5 gigawatts of modules, secured 7.4 gigawatts of gross bookings, and recorded 8.3 gigawatts of debookings, primarily due to our termination of contracts as a result of contract breaches by customers, resulting in net full-year debookings of 0.9 gigawatts. We ended the year with a contracted backlog of 50.1 gigawatts valued at $15 billion. As a reminder, the contracted backlog reflects the base ASP. A significant portion of our existing contracted backlog includes pricing adjusters that may increase the base ASP, contingent on achieving specific milestones within our technology roadmap and manufacturing replication plan. At year-end, approximately 23.2 gigawatts of contract volume included these adjusters, which we estimate could generate up to an additional $600 million, or approximately $0.03 per watt, the majority of which we recognize in 2027–2028. Turning to the P&L on slide six. Q4 net sales were $1.7 billion, a $100 million increase sequentially. Full year net sales were $5.2 billion, a $1 billion increase year over year, driven primarily by a 24% increase in module volume. Gross margin in Q4 was [percent omitted in source], an increase from 38% in the prior quarter. The increase was driven by a higher mix of U.S.-manufactured modules benefiting from Section 45X tax credits, lower nonstandard freight charges due to reduced international shipments, and the resolution of the glass supply chain disruption experienced in Q3 at our Alabama facility. These benefits were partially offset by ramp and underutilization costs for Louisiana, a higher proportion of sales into the India market, and the termination amounts recognized in the third quarter related to breach contracts by affiliates of BP. Full year 2025 gross margin was 41%, a decrease from 44% in the prior year. The decline was primarily driven by tariff costs as well as the impact of tariffs exacerbating warehousing expense associated with a back-weighted revenue profile, detention and demurrage, partially driven by supply-demand imbalance following certain contract terminations due to customer default and underutilization from the curtailment of our Series 6 international facilities. These headwinds were partially offset by $1.6 billion of Section 45X tax credits recognized in 2025, plus $1 billion in 2024, driven by a higher mix of U.S.-manufactured module volumes sold. As an update on warranty-related matters, we resolved certain claims and have continued to advance negotiations with additional customers regarding warranty claims for select Series 7 modules produced prior to 2025. Based on our settlement experience, the estimated number of affected modules, and projected remediation costs, we believe a reasonable estimate of potential future loss will range from approximately $35 million to $75 million. Within this range, we have recorded a specific warranty liability of $50 million, representing our best estimate of the expected impact associated with this issue. We are aware of certain statements, including in recent counterclaim filings by affiliates of BP, relating to overall PV plant underperformance. While we will not comment on existing litigation, we do encourage a review of our initial complaint filed last year as well as our answer to those claims and our motion to dismiss filed earlier this month. To relate to overall PV project, we would note that solar plant performance relative to expectations is influenced by a broad set of environmental, design, operational, and grid-related factors. These include, but are not limited to, third-party prediction modeling, weather variability, terrain variability, local microclimates, shading and soiling, procurement and design decisions relating to trackers, inverters, trunk transformers and other plant components, design and construction parameters including EPC quality, DC and AC system design, construction and handling, and operational factors including tracker algorithm design and fidelity, open circuit conditions, and overall O&M scope and quality. In short, a solar plant's performance reflects its total environment and system design. As we have consistently stated, First Solar, Inc. fully stands behind its module warranty obligations. To the extent a customer has a valid module warranty claim, we remain ready, willing, and able to perform our responsibilities pursuant to the procedures agreed to in our warranty. SG&A, R&D, and production start-up expense totaled $117 million in Q4, a decrease of approximately $27 million relative to the prior quarter. The decrease was primarily driven by the reduction of start-up costs associated with the Louisiana facility commencing commercial operations. For the full year 2025, operating expenses were $523 million, an increase of $59 million year over year. This includes a $42 million increase in R&D expense, driven by higher depreciation, maintenance and utility costs associated with our research facilities as well as increased headcount and compensation. SG&A increased by $15 million driven primarily by higher allowance for credit losses on aged receivable balances and supplier loans. Our fourth quarter operating income was $548 million, which included depreciation, amortization and accretion of $141 million, ramp and underutilization costs of $29 million excluding depreciation, production start-up expense of $1 million, and share-based compensation expense of $3 million. For full year 2025, our operating income was $1 billion which included depreciation, amortization and accretion of $529 million, ramp and underutilization costs of $140 million, production start-up expense of $86 million, and share-based compensation expense of $19 million. Interest income, interest expense, other income, and foreign currency losses totaled $3 million in income in Q4, and $16 million expense for the full year. Income tax expense for the fourth quarter was $30 million compared to a tax expense of $4 million in the third quarter. This quarter-over-quarter increase in tax expense was primarily a function of Q3 benefits including a $20 million discrete tax benefit associated with the acceptance of a filing position on amended tax returns in a foreign jurisdiction, and incremental share-based compensation benefits recorded in the prior quarter. We recorded full year income tax expense of $53 million. Q4 earnings per diluted share were $4.84 compared to $4.24 in the previous quarter. For the full year 2025, earnings per diluted share were $14.21 compared to $12.20 in 2024 and within our guidance range. Turning to slide seven, I will cover select balance sheet items and summary cash flow information. The aggregate balance of our cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, restricted cash equivalents and marketable securities was $2.9 billion at year-end, an increase of $800 million sequentially and $1.1 billion year over year. Both the sequential and full-year increase in gross cash were driven primarily by proceeds from the sale of Section 45X tax credits generated during the year and positive operating cash flows, partially offset by capital expenditures for our Louisiana facility. We monetized €800 million of 2025 Section 45X tax credits in the fourth quarter, and $1.4 billion during the full year. Notably, in January 2026, we also received $118 million for 2024 Section 45X tax credits where we elected a direct pay option in our 2024 tax return filed in October 2025. The sale transactions highlight the liquidity of the Section 45X tax credit sale market. The IRS refund provides insight into direct pay election turnaround times, providing additional visibility and flexibility to optimize credit monetization and manage overall liquidity. Accounts receivable and inventory decreased both sequentially and relative to the prior year, reflecting improved customer collections and higher volumes sold. Capital expenditures were $172 million in the fourth quarter compared to $24 million in the third quarter. Full year 2025 CapEx was $870 million compared to $1.5 billion in 2024. Our year-end net cash position was $2.4 billion, an increase of $900 million from the prior quarter and an increase of $1.2 billion from the prior year. Now I will turn the call back to Mark, who will provide an update on market conditions, policy, and technology.